The mother of a gifted young footballer who died after police chased him at high speed while he was riding his moped has welcomed the findings of an inquest jury that found there were multiple failings by officers involved in the case.
Lewis Johnson, 18, a former Crystal Palace youth player, died in February 2016 when the white Vespa scooter he was riding collided with a van in Clapton, east London, after a three-minute high-speed police chase. Officers were pursuing him after reports that he had been snatching mobile phones.
It has taken nine years since Johnson’s death for the inquest to take place. During that time there have been a series of legal challenges and investigations into the fatal incident.
Johnson’s mother, Ann Torpey, said she felt a weight had been lifted from her after the inquest concluded.
‘I felt as if a 10-stone weight had been lifted from me.’ Lewis Johnson’s mother, Ann Torpey. Photograph: Handout
“The jury agreed with us. I was in shock at first after fighting for the truth to come out for nine years,” she said. “I left the court and got on the train and by the time I got off a smile was spreading across my face. I felt as if a 10-stone weight had been lifted from me.”
“My Lewis had had bad experiences with the police. He never would have stopped for them in that chase. When I started to fight for justice for him I wasn’t clued up about legal things but it was Lewis who made me stronger every day.”
In a narrative conclusion on Thursday, a jury at Bow coroner’s court in east London found that Johnson died after colliding with a traffic light pole close to Clapton Common. They found that the way Johnson rode his moped while being pursued, at times in excess of the speed limit, on the wrong side of the road and mounting the pavement, was influenced by the manner of the police pursuit, with the police car following him too closely at times, “a factor that placed additional pressure on Mr Johnson, affecting his decision-making”.
The jury also found that opportunities to reduce the risk to Johnson and to the public by the driver of the police vehicle were missed, in particular by continuing to drive too close to the moped at times.
Their conclusions highlighted the fact that the police driver involved in the chase did not have the relevant qualification, known as initial pursuit certification, to pursue motorbikes and there was a lack of knowledge amongthe police driver, vehicle operator and Metropolitan police control room staff of the policy in relation to the pursuit of motorcycles and lack of adequate communication of these policies.
Torpey believes her son did not stop when the police were pursuing him because he was scared of them.
Relating to the allegations that Johnson had been stealing mobile phones, Torpey said her son had done “wrong things” but was not a “bad person” and had become involved in postcode disputes.
She said: “Lewis was my absolute. He had an aura around him. Everybody loved him and hundreds of people came to his funeral. Our last conversation was about pancakes as it was pancake day and I asked him what he wanted on his pancakes later that day. The last thing he said to me was: ‘I love you mumsie’. I will continue to live my life for my other children but every night when I go to sleep I know that when I wake up the next day I’ll be a step closer to being with Lewis again.”
Taylor Rose are the solicitors instructed in the case. Andre Clovis, a consultant solicitor, said: “Ms Torpey has never made any excuses for Lewis’s behaviour but she has been badly let down by the legal system.
“It has saddened me that unless she fought tooth and nail through every obstacle placed in her way for nine years, she would not have received that which she is entitled to under the law, a full understanding of circumstances in which Lewis met his death.”
Chief Supt Brittany Clarke, who leads policing in the area, said: “Our thoughts and condolences remain with Lewis’s family and friends for their loss. We are aware of the outcome of the inquest and we will respond to any recommendations from the coroner in due course.
“We have a clear policy on when and where a police pursuit should take place. We recognise the dangers of these incidents and officers should adhere to the national guidelines issued by the College of Policing.
“Officers driving police vehicles, or those who have responsibility for monitoring or authorising a pursuit, are trained on how they should respond to these dynamic incidents.”
On 4 March 2022, a misconduct hearing found misconduct proven against two officers involved in the pursuit, the force said.
A PC who was the driver of the police vehicle was found to have initiated and continued the pursuit without the appropriate authority. An outcome of misconduct was recorded. The panel found the officer had the mistaken belief that the pursuit had been authorised.
On 12 October 2021, that officer was found not guilty at Kingston crown court of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Misconduct allegations against a former, now retired, sergeant was found to be proven relating to a training matter, while allegations against a second former (retired) sergeant were not proven.
According to data from the Independent Office for Police Conduct in the year 2023-24 there were 24 deaths as a result of police pursuits in England and Wales.
Freedom of information data from the Metropolitan police reveals that the number of police pursuits has almost doubled from 2,779 in 2019-20 to 4,111 in 2024-25, when about a quarter of these pursuits, 1,179, resulted in a collision.
